Railway-signal-locking device



April 23, 1929. B. R. SMITH RAILWAY SIGNAL LOCKING DEVICE Filed Nov. 10, 1927 3 sheets-sheer 1 INVENTOR.

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A TTORNEYS.

April 23, 1929. B, R- sMlTH l 1,710,519

-RAILWAY SIGNAL LOCKING DEVICE Filed Nov. l0, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

AApril 23,' 1929. B. R. SMITH RAILWAY 'SIGNAL LOCKING DEVICE Filled Nov. 10, 1927 :s sheets-sheet 49 INVENToR.

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Patented Apr. 23, i929.

UNITED vs'LrATEs 1,219,519 PArENr. oFFicE. l,

BEN noBE-nfi SMITH, von riinsnoonn, FLORIDA.

nAILWAY--sIGiiAL-LocKIne Davies.

- Application filed November 10, 1927. 'Serial No. 332,209.

'lhis invention relates to an .improved signal device embodying a safety 'taeter and Vspecilically to a signalling device which is particularly adapted tor use by railroads.

lt is an object et the invention to provide a devi ce of thiscliaracter by means ot which,

while when a signal is in clear positionit ing to the dignityoiA the order, and at theY time such order is about to be inscribed.

yStill another object is that of providing such a device in which the parts ivill'be few in number,` rugged, and relatively simple in construction; to' furnish a signal which may be assembled readily and Will'operateover y long periods ot time with freedom from niechanica'l diii'iculty.

An additional object .is that ot'devising a safety device tor signals which maybe applied to signals already in existence, Without requiring a reconstructionot such signals.

' Reference is had to the attached sheets ot drawings illustrating practical embodiments ot the invention, and iny Which: y i

Figs. l, 2 and 3 are side/elevations Ypartly in sect-ion ot one toiinot safetyV signal emtion Without requiring aseries ot acts, the

'bodying the improved construction of the present invention;`

Fig. e is a perspective View of certain of the operatingincchanism therefor;

Fig. 5 isa similar vieivvot thereceptacle -`andclosure Which may be employed; and

Figs. 6 and .7 show tivo diderenttoriiislof signalling device as embodying my present invention.

In these views ,the numeral 10 indicates the column or standard supporting,at its upper end., the semaphore arm il Which may, in accordance with conventional construction, be toi-ined with threeapertures 1 2, each presenting a diiterently'-,colored lens or Windov7 through which, from a suitable source of illumination (not shown) rays may be directed along the right'oi'f Way. -Y Y,

Furthern'iore, as is conventional., these seinaphoie arnisinay extend in horizontal position Whenindicating a stop signal, in inclined position (approximately 450) to vi'qgiister a caution signal, and extend vertically only 'when the right of'way is clear. i 1

lt is Well understood by'those conversant With railroad practice, that twol types of or* ders are in common usage :l one, in which its [importance is not ot sutlicient dignity to Warrant stopping a train unless through some accident in its relay to the train thecrew of Athe latter tails to receive it; the other order lis one ot utmost importance, andinvolves not j alone, bringing the train to a complete stop, but requires that the dispatcher or agent deliver the order to lthe train crew and secure from them a receipt tor suchr order. It'has ieretotore occurred through carelessness on the part or' the .person who received the order and was tov transfer-fit to the train crew, that ythe semaphore has not been set` to proper posi* tion and accordingly upon the approach ot the vtrain has indicated a clear right of Way,

resulting in accidents.

ByV means oit'r the present invention it is rproposed, With particular reference to this phase of railroading, to provide a check on the otticial or operator who is to transmit the orders, and which check'ivill render it necessary, upon the Writing ot an order to be transmitted to an approaching train', for such ope ator to set the semaphore to a position comii'iensurate With the dignity o'l the order. It j is, furthermore, proposed' by means of the lpresent invention to prevent a subsequent resetting ot the semaphore to its initial posilatter being virtually Aincapable of performance by an operat'or'without deliberate intent 'on his part.

' Ll attached to one of its ends, a link 15 being secured to its opposite end and connecting with the arm ll tor the purpose of shifting the sla-ine around .its point oipivotal connection with the standard. in accordance with conventional practice the inner end of thelever 13 may be Weighted as at 16 and the Lsemaphore arm may vhave its body disposedv Cri Gt) Y shown 'in Fig. l.' 4such movement the closure carries a notched Vbar or strip 25 against which a latch lever 'inthe form of a yoke 26 may bear, to enter so that thc entire device will normally tend to maintain the stop position ol the semaphore arm, being understood that any desired retaining means (not shown) may pe employed to retain the actuating member in [he position to *which it has been shifted, r

Disposed in proximity to the standard lO, and preferably adjacent the base thereof, is a receptacle l? including; two compartments ll and 1Q, this receptacle having` in the present instance only one open tace and access to .its interior being prevented by means ot a closure Q which according' to the present exemplilication is slidably mounted within grooves 2l formed in the sidewalls oi the receptacle. rlhe closure S is connected by means oi a link 22 with a leveil pivotally mounted upon the standard lO, and this lever has at its inner end a weicht tending normally to move this end or the lever downwardly and the closure upwardly to the position ln order to guard against either one of the t vo notches in the manner shown in l? 2 or 3,V thus preventing` an np-V ii/'ard movement of the closure. Secured to the standard is a further latch lever 27, the positionoll which, with respect to the lever,

may ybe maintained by a link 28,-tlie end ot this latch member riding into anotch iformed in the .upper edge oi:A the lever 23 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig.v l, it being finally noted, with reference to this torni of the invention, that the end of the lever formed with an extension 3l overlying the path of travel ot the inner end of the lever 'l-land racting,l .as stop for this member. i i Y ln operation it will be perceived that with access to the coijnpartments oit the receptacle baia-ed by means of. the closure as in Fig..v 3, the semaphore arm may be operated in the usual manner to be thrownfrom clear to stop positions, or to the intermediate caution position. lt is intended that the `compartment 19 shall receive order blanks upon which there is to be inscribed orders of importance, but the Acompaitinent 18 receives order blanks of the lirst importance, these two sets of blanks being;1 usually imprinted and/or colored so .that they may be distinguished readily. As aforo brought out, .the first type of order Adoes not reqnire a stopping` of the train unless the crew fails to pick up77 the order as the train, at comparatively reduced speed., passes the signal station, Orders within the compartment i8, however, are of that type which ,according to law and regulations require a complete stopping o the train and a receipt-ing by thecrew for the delivery of such order. It', now, an operator receives a message of the first type, he, in order tc inscribe the same, will release the yoke 26 from engageymay be moved under this setting olf the parts tothe stop position, any attempt Ato move the saine trom the intermediate positionl to clear the right of way .vill be prevented by theflfact that the lever 13 will strike against thev stop 3l under suc'n an attempt, and the semaphore arm accordingly can not reach the 4clear7 position. right oi way, will have to primarily move the closure from the position of Fig.V 2 to that of Fig. '3 and only thereupon may the lever 13 be moved to shift the semaphore arm toA such position, it being obvious that such actuation oi" the parts nia-y lnot be d ne through sheer absent-mindedness When an order oi utmost importance is to be inscri-bed, the operator will move the closure 20 from Vthe position ci either Figs.. 3 or 2' to the p oistion of Fig. l. lu order to accomplish this, however, it is necessary, primarilyto shift the lever 13 so thatthe lever may be shifted. ln so doingI it is apparent that the semaphore arm is iiiovedY-to thefull stop position and a return from this posi-tion'will The operator, in order to clear the'V be prevented, lirst, by the fact that the leverVV 13 will strike against the stop 3l undersucl attempt, and secondly, due `to the tactthat the lever 23 Vwill be maintained against return movement, by the latch 27 having` ridden into'the notch 30. Conseqiiently,.ifthe semaphore arm is to be returned tothe position o'f F "3, an opera-tor must primarily release this latch. Thereupon the closure must be .moved downwardly `and only then.V may the actuatiiig` member l-/l be manipulated; Y

In Fig. 6 the invention has 'been shown as applied to that type of semaphore in which the signal arm is inclined downwardly iiistead of upwardly when a caution signal "is 'being registered., and'when 'this arm extends vertically downwardly from its pivot, to vindicate a clear track condition instead of upwardly as `in Figs. l to 3. Obviouslyas shown, the parts are similar tothe structure aiore described with the exception that 'the connecting member 32, instead of extending Vbetween the inner end ofthe leverfln andthe Asemaphore arm, entends from a vpoint adjacent the outer end ol. thelever and may provided by mea-1S of a Hamme Connecting elementin lien of Vthe link l5."

ln the form shown in Fig. 7 the semaphore arm is swung by a link ,actuated by a bellcrank lever Bhthis lever being swung by a rod 35 connected to one arm of aV second bellcrank lever, the opposite arm of which is connected by links 37 and 38, first to an actuating lever 39, and secondly with a block 40y having shouldered lower end 41 and beingV mounted for sliding movement upon a suitable support. In this form of signalling device it is obvious. that as the actuatinglevcr 39 is moved downwardly a pull will be imparted to the rod 35 resulting inthe semaphore arm being swung upwardly to either intermediate or clear position. Pivotally mounted below the shoulders4l vis a stop 42 which may be rocked by means of a link 43, bell-crank lever'44, link 45, and lever 46 to occupy a position at which it intersects the path of t-ravel of the shoulders 41. This'position ofthe stop 42 is controlled by the position'of the closure 20, which in turn may be shifted to open position Vonly when the yoke latch 26 is swung out of engagement with the notches of the strip or bar 25. A return of the closure to its initial position is prevented by vmeans of a pawl 47 cooperating with a latch bar 48, the pawl having at this end two notches 49 either of which may be engaged by the bar according toposition of the pawl, which in turn is dependent upon the position of theclosure.

In this form of device it will bei apparent that which the` receptacle closed ythe actuating lever 39.1nay be shifted to swing` the semaphore arm to any desired position. If, however, an operator` desires access to orders of the first type afore referred to, he will, after swinging the yoke bar o ut of engagement with the notch associated with the closure, vmove the latterupwar'dly which will result in the pawl 47 riding downwardly with respect to the bar 48 and having its lowerinost notch i'nterlocked"therewith, it being obvious that this pawl serves in many respects to equalize the weight of the closure and its associated parts; (b) Such movement of the closure will cause the stop 42 to be disposed in line with the path-of travel of the uppermost shoulder 41 under which conditions the semaphore arm may not be shifted beyond the `caution position, although from this position it Vmay still be freely shifted to the full stop position. If access to order blanks of major importance is to be had, the yoke latch may again be moved to permit the closure to moveto the position shown 'in Fig. 7, lwhich will cause the pawl 4"(- to ride downwardly to engage with. Aits second notch, the bar 48, and furthermore-cause the stop 42 to be swung to theposition shown in this figure, in which position the semaphore -arm may not be shifted. Ifthe parts are'to be released, this is capable of accomplishmentk onlyvby first releasing the' pawl 47 thereuponl moving the closure downwardly and locking it against further movement, and only then may the semaphore arm be shifted.

Thus, among others, theobjects specifically f by the position of the closure.

aforementioned are achieved, but it is intended that numerous changes in construction and rearrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing vfrom the spirit of the invention, which are defined by the claims f tacle maybe rendered inaccessible and means -for limiting the shifting of said signalling. Ajmeans proportionate to the degree of accessiy bility-of the receptacle interior.

2.1A device ofthe character described including shiftable signalling means, a-recep-4 vtacle,means whereby the interior ofv rsaid receptacle may be rendered vinacessible, means for limiting the shifting of said signalling means proportionate tof the degree'of accessibility of the receptacle interior, and means Cil tending to prevent the interior of said receptacle again. being renderedk inaccessible.

'3. A device of the character described including, in combination, astandard, a semaphore arm pivoted to the standard, a lever swingingly mounted upon said standard,-

means connecting said lever with said semavrph'ore arm. to shift the same, a receptacle having a )livirality'A of compartn'ients and a 'closuretherefor, said semaphore having a plurality ofpositions, and a lever connected to move with said closure and providing a stop cooperating with vthe first named lever to prevent movement of thelatter and the semaphore toa position beyond that determined 4. A device of the character described including a signal movable to one of a plurality of vpositions,'a` receptacle divided into -compartments, aA closure for said receptacle and movable to permit access successively to said tions, a receptacle, a movable closure therefor,V

means connected with said closure to limit the movementl of the semaphore arm when said receptacle'is in open position, and means for preventing a closing of said receptacle.l

6. A device of the character described including, in combination, a semaphore, means foi shiftingthe same, a receptacle, a movable closuretherefor, and means connected with said yclosure and cooperating with said semaphore shifting means `to limit the movement of the latter when said receptacle is open.

7. 4A device of the character described including, in combinatiomasemaphore, means for shifting the same, a receptacle, a movable ico llO

device of the characterdescribed in- -ise yclosure therefor., nieans enneeted with said closure @and cooperating with said semaphore shitting means :to lliinit the n'ioveinent oit' the latter when said receptacle is open7 and -ineans vconnected `with said limiting ineans :for noi'- nially preventing a closing of the receptacle.

8. A device of the character described including -a receptacle, :a movable closure therefor, nien-ns :for normally retaining-said closure ,against nioven'ient, a semaphore, means for l'reel-y shifting' the vsaine to various lpositions and .fii'ieans connected with fsa-id retaining ineens to liinit such shifting when the receptacle is open. e

' 9. A ldevice of the character described inycluding a receptacle,a inova-lile closure therefor, means :for normally retaining said closure against movement, a semaphore, ineans for 'lfreelg7 shifting the saine to various positionsrv and lmeans connected with said retaining yineens te decrease the gaineunt of movement y.or ywhich said semaphore iscapa-ble in proportion to the :opening of the receptacle.

1Q. f A device foi Julie character deseiibed including `a semaphore arina lever connected therewith tto shift the saine vtovarious positions.7 :a receptacle, a notch-ed bait, a closure secured 'to said bar :and ino-Vahle with respect :to said receptacle, means cooperating Witli the notches of saidbar :to normally hold the latter and saidclosnre immovable and ineens 4ceptacle is open.

connected With saidbar and cooperating with said semaphore shifting ineans to limit the nioveinent fot the ylat-ter lin Vpi'epoiztion Ato the Vnioveinent foivsaid bar.

l1. A device ofthe character describediny elurl-iiig aistandard, a lever pivotallyinounted thereon, a semaphore movable 'te various positions 'and connected with said lever to be operated thereby, ,a second lever pivoted to said standard, Aa lmovable receptacle closure connected with saidsecond lever, said second lever extending' adgacent vsaid First lever and limiting the movement.thereof preportion-A ateto the position oi" the receptacle closure l2. A device of the character described including a standard, a lever pivotally inounted thereon, a .semaphore inovehle yto various posit-ions and connected with said lever to beoperated thereby, `aseeond lever pivoted to-said stende-rd, a inovalilereceptacle'closnre .connected with said second lleve-r, said second .lever extending adjacent said iirst'leverI and for preventing a movement of the `closiire'- .to receptacle closingposition :after having been shifted toa position zit-'which vsaid re- In ltestimony Wherco't- I aiiii: `inv signature.

BEN noBienr'lSinin.A 

